Montreal-based chamber rock ensemble
Esmerine
contains former members of
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
and
A Silver Mt. Zion
, and their music mixes acoustic instruments with experimental methods, with more credits for strings, horns, percussion, and electronics than guitars. Their Juno-winning 2013 album
Dalmak
was recorded in Istanbul with several Turkish musicians guesting, and they've continued incorporating traditional instruments on their subsequent efforts.
Brian Sanderson
, who joined in 2011, plays instruments such as the hulusi (an Asian gourd flute) and the kamel n'goni (a West African guitar-like stringed instrument) on
Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More
, the group's seventh album. "Entropy," a multi-part suite near the beginning of the record, features stirring flutes and sorrowful strings, leading into the type of triumphant procession one might expect from
Constellation
's stable of post-rock acts. "Imaginary Pasts" is the centerpiece, building up a pounding drum rhythm from a meditative drone, then adding strings, guitars, and woozy synths, turning it into a gently psychedelic epic, and switching up with a jazzy acoustic bassline. Several shorter pieces contain more suspenseful melodies ("Wakesleep" would be perfect as a soundtrack for a key scene in a horror/sci-fi series), with "Foxtailes & Fireflies" being a more sonically daring mixture of subtly glitchy electronic effects and chirping insects. "Number Stations" also uses field recordings, blending rainfall and creaking static with shimmering percussion (but no
Conet Project
-type samples), then eventually gaining a crawling rhythm, and ending up much cozier than the title suggests. The entire album is a fluid, expressive stream that becomes slightly tense or brazen during its most emotional moments, but maintains a similar sense of elegance and mystery throughout. ~ Paul Simpson